A north-east museum stepped in to fulfill the dying wish of a north-east motoring enthusiast – by taking him to his funeral in the back of a vintage Mountain Rescue ambulance.
David Millar, a trustee of the Alford-based Grampian Transport Museum, died of cancer at 67 years old at the end of April.
Mr Millar wanted his final voyage to be made in the rear of his own Land Rover, a vehicle he cherished.
However, his family discovered that it lacked the required room to accommodate the coffin.
Upon learning of the situation, his friends at the museum volunteered to lend the family one of their larger vehicles instead.
And so Mr Millar was taken to his funeral service at Skene Parish Church on Thursday aboard the attraction’s bigger Land Rover – which served as an ambulance for the Aberdeen Mountain Rescue team before becoming an exhibit.
It was driven on the poignant journey by fellow volunteer, John Rahtz.
Meanwhile, Mr Millar’s son Mike drove his dad’s own prized Landy in the procession and museum curator Mike Ward was behind the wheel of a third one in the procession.
Mr Millar, from Westhill, had formerly worked for the roads department with Grampian Regional Council, and went on to work as an assistant director with the city council.
His family gave their thanks to the staff of the museum, where Mr Millar helped repair and maintain many of the exhibits.
His wife Lorna said: “There’s a lot of words people have written about him.
“He was a kind, considerate, gentle, family man. He was respected by all of his friends and colleagues.”
Paul Lawson, chairman of the trustees at the Grampian Transport Museum, said: “David had been involved in various projects in and around the museum as a volunteer, he was involved a lot with the steam engines we have like the Birkhall and the Sentinel.
“He was very involved with general car maintenance with all the exhibits too.
“He was a true gentleman, somebody who always had a smile on his face and was always happy to just get on with things.
“Moving on from being a volunteer, he became one of the trustees and up until recently he was vice-chairman.
“David was just a great guy, and he really gave a lot to the museum, you could tell he really enjoyed it.
“He had his own Land Rover that he looked after, so when the family came to us about using our Land Rover, we were happy to help where we could.”
He is survived by his wife Lorna, his three sons, and two grandchildren.